From predators to prey
by Blue Jeans
Summary: As their relationship crumbles in the face of change, longing, and contempt. Ann and Ail must now confront their roles on Earth and in the lives of each other, disagreeing on the fundamentals of whether they are now predators or prey. 2 of 2 Complete
1. From predators

                        --

_You have turned the white plum, red..._

_What have you done?*_

                        --

            It is night again, bright moon, light stars, and no sun.  The wind whistles and she watched the foreign lands before her unveiling its face.  Bright city lights shone in the distance where the downtown is coming to life again, and the more seedy part of humanity begins to waken.  She leaned against the metal rails, her eyes searching for what she knew not off.

            Bored, she thought to herself as she absent-mindedly swirled one finger along the cool, metal rail.  She looked down at the world below her, noted the shadows along the walls as young couples walked by her apartment complex.  So careless and stupid those humans are, she narrowed her eyes at them.  These worms were just a walking bunch of energy source for Mother, and sacrifices to the Hunger.

            The eerie glow of the television in the room behind her caste shadows onto her own face as she raised her hand before her eyes.  In a simple twist of her fingers and the flick of her wrist, she looked at the small cards displayed before her.  "Kage," she commanded as one of the cards flickered with its own light and came into life.  It drifted away from the deck in her hands, coming alive slowly at its mistress' bidding.  Had Ail been there, he might have scolded her for picking such a lesser demon.  But she didn't care, tonight Ail was nowhere to be found.  Probably after that human bitch, she thought bitterly, but she dismissed the feelings as she did not want to linger on the growing distance that was slowly separating her from him.  The night was young still, after all, and the fertilizers for Mother were ripe for the plucking.

            A wicked smile spread across her lips as her glamour shimmered away to reveal her pink hair, streaked with blue, the red of her body-hugging suit, and the green of her skin.  "Let the games begin," she murmured to herself, and with a snap of her fingers, the card came to life.

            "Kage is here!" the demon declared its being as its mistress watched it lazily through lidded eyes.

            "Let's have a bit of fun in this city, hm, Kage?" she murmured coyly, "We can call it a date," and with a humorless giggle they both disappeared from the apartment's balcony.

                                                *          *          *

            The stripe of Main Street at down-town Tokyo was packed.  She allowed her glamour to appear once more, only this time, the black leather-skirt replaced her usual red.  She sported a clinging white tank-top and black, knee-high boots.  Men, she had come to learn, on this planet were driven by sex and attraction.  The animals were easy to lure, and thinking there is non-superior than its existence, most of these creatures did not know it was being hunted till it was too late.  All the better for her, Ann thought as she draped the leather jacket over her shoulders.

            She sauntered out of the alley, where Kage trailed her from the shadows, melting in and out of the darkness.  Ail always wanted to make spectacular attacks, not that she didn't find them somewhat entertaining.  But it attracted unwanted attention, especially form those stupid little Sailor Senshi and their all too revealing costume.  At least she was doing something about it, her infatuated brother would get them both killed, and he said she was the reckless one.

            "Love you to pieces as if you're still one of the faithful," she had told him once when he was sleeping while she watched over them both.  She sauntered down the street, knowing she caught more than a few seedy men's gazes.  She didn't care.  Humans were food for her hunger, their life falling like rain before Mother's throne.  And at least they knew she was better than that blonde-bitch her brother followed around like a lost little puppy.

            Traversing with humans, how disgusting, she almost snarled at the thought but reminded herself that she was out hunting.  She turned a corner, into another alley way and promptly found herself facing a gang.  They were equally startled as they turned, and she saw that a young girl with black hair and dark-brown eyes was unceremoniously having her shirt ripped in two.  "Well, well, someone's decided to join the party."  The leader of the gang smirked with a predatory light in his eyes.

            Sex and power, humans are so dirty and disgusting.  All they do is hurt each other now when they have nothing else to hurt or destroy.  Humans were little pesky beasts that crawl through life, so ugly and many, destroying their own Mother so carelessly.

            They were all worms at Mother's feet.

            A hand rested on her hip as she watched the struggling girl with the gag in the other's mouth that looked like a piece of school-uniform, but there was a sparkle of hope in those fear filled eyes.  Oh but would it soon die when that stupid little female beast realize that she was in a fate worse than what these men of evil intentions could possibly deal?  Weak little beasts, she thought, and an answering, predatory smile on her lips appeared.  "I didn't know I was interrupting something," she purred as she twirled one finger through her hair, watching with pleasure as the hope in the little girl's eyes turn to horror.  Maybe one day she would be able to place that same look on that bitch that made Ail such a weakling, stabbing whatever poison the clumsy idiot fed him, shoving it all right back into that little worm body, that weak, pathetic body.

            Some men were already rising and nearing her, but she knew she could crush these worms with a flick of her wrist.  "A pretty girl like you, doing at a place like this?  Obviously you're looking for trouble," another, ugly worm said with their weak little mouths.

            "You've found me," she perked up brightly, all an act to prolong the pleasure, to prolong the anger that burned within her.  And with that same silly smile on her lips, and a snap of her slender fingers, Kage rose from behind her like a dark demon in the lighted night.  "You found us both," she bared her little white teeth in the darkness as Kage caste shadows onto her and the horrified faces of Mother's food.  "Little worms, so easy to crush, I think I'll have you for dinner."  She stretched each word out with her pleasured smirk, and without further prompting, Kage descended over them.  The demon-card's shadows muffled their screams as did the beeping of car-horns and the blasting of the stereos on the city streets.

            They were all dead little worms being nothing more than food for their Mother.

            The hunt has but began.

                                                *          *          *

            By the time she got home, it was reasonably late.  She tugged Kage's card back into her deck safely before opening the door to the apartment.  She could have gone the other way, but she would rather Ail think that he wasn't the only one out on a date.  Ann seethed at the fact that Ail was with a stupid human bitch instead of hunting with her or being with her.  These thoughts made her angry, but she suppressed them just as quickly because it would not do for her to elevate the blonde-worm's status by being jealous of the little, weak thing.

            "I'm home!"  She called out as she closed the door behind her, but there was no answer.  It was reasonably late, and she saw Ail's shoes in the closest when she had opened it to put her own in.  He must be sleeping, she thought as she set her feet into her slippers.

            _Living like humans, hmm?_

            But she ignored that voice in her head as easily as she had ignored her earlier annoyances and frustrations.  She traveled to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water, drinking it.  She leaned back against the counter and watched the florescent lights.  She could hear Mother's singing from the other room, singing with the energy she had collected on her own.  But would Ail even notice?  Or would he be too busy with his mind on that worthless worm?

            A dark-haired man came into her mind then as well and she let the predatory smile spread across her lips.  Ah, but the worm loved another little worm, didn't that stupid girl?  So I'll punish her over and over if I must with him, she decided, though the man -- handsome by worm standings -- really was no more than fodder in her mind's eye.  They were all ignorant little worms, playing games that are so simple that anyone could come in and toy with their little precious hearts.  She drank the tasteless liquid, letting it run down her throat before setting the empty glass in the sink.

            "Oh, Mamoru San, you are such the little ace up my sleeve," she murmured to herself with a dark, wry smile before turning off the kitchen light and heading for her room.

            She paused and looked to the doorway to Ail's bedroom, and hesitatingly opened the door.  _Was he really home?  She asked herself, but she knew it was just an excuse to see him.  Opening the door as quietly as she could, she peered in and saw his shadowed form in the darkness, slumped in his bed, back to the door._

            Why did they sleep in separate rooms?  She wondered.  Before, they had always slept together, sharing their warmth and their loneliness while traveling through the darkness of the universe.  Now, now he wanted his own bed, his own room, as long as it was without her in it.  She frowned into the darkness at his beautiful, narrow back.  Was this for the blonde-bitch too?  Her fingers curled into a fist, knuckles turning white to reflect the building anger inside of her as she saw the odango-haired blonde clinging to her Ail's arm in her mind.

            _Hands off, he's mine!_  She wanted to scream at the image, but it was just an image in her own little head.  Her eyes cleared as her glamour faded.  She noted that he was still in human form as she closed the door.  Was he ashamed of who he was... of what he is?  Was he ashamed of what they were?  It cannot be, because they were the predator, he could not want to be one of the worms they hunted for Mother.

            _That is so disgusting!_

            Blue hair, brushing hers as his fingers closed over her own.  Hot breath against her throat and his warmth all around her...  But that was not to be anymore, he has fallen into the role of her brother too easily, leaving her with nothing but memories.  What was so pleasant about these humans anyway?  Their stupidity and ignorance, their weakness and dirtiness, everything about them begged for her to use them, to hunt them down for Mother, for the Hunger.

            _And you are acting as one of them_, that little, mocking voice came back.

            That blonde-little worm shall die.  Ann pushed the voice back with her anger, her shame.  _I'll kill Mamoru San before that little bitch's eyes if I must to crush that worm, she snarled.  Nobody but her had the right to Ail!  Nobody else would understand his pain but her.  That blonde little worm had not stood by him when their world had ended in the dreams they sometimes shared about the past.  The worm was not there when they traveled through empty blackness, starving and dying with nothing but Mother as their guide through the painful stages of starvation, caught in the tight grasp of the Hunger.  The little worm did not grow up with Ail, holding him when he needed holding, comforting him when he needed comforting, and sharing the nights with him when he felt the dark demon of their combined hunger clawing through him and making them both mad._

            The worm did not have that hunger.  Unlike theirs, human hunger was of a baser nature, not half as compelling as their own.

            She closed the door to his room and went into her own.  She turned her eyes to the TV that was never off and watched the worms interact.  She pondered what it would be like to be a worm, but only for a second.  Would it have been easier to live so helplessly, so ignorantly?  Would it have been far easier than being a predator?  She doubted such silly, senseless thoughts as soon as it came up.  She wondered if Ail would love her again if she could become more of a worm, though, more ignorant and weak and dirty she would become.

            The idea disgusted her and she immediately dismissed it entirely.

            Why would she ever be content being fodder for Mother and the ceaselessness that raged from the Hunger?  She shivered slightly at such oppositions, closing her eyes instead till a steadiness came over her.  Falling back onto the bed, she opened her eyes again to look at the ceiling of her room, content with the lack of blackness to be seen and the silence to be heard.  In a few hours, they would be returning to worm school, and she would have to brush up and touch those little beasts while trying to hide her own disgust.  They were food for the Hunger, food for Mother.  It will be alright here where at last they were not hunted for the Hunger that drove them.  Humans were cruel to their own Mother, unable to hear their Mother's songs and cries of agony as she could, as Ail could.  They were insensitive to the pain and the shriveling of leaves, of the dying of the grass beneath their feet and the seasons that put to sleep a world before awakening it.

            How could Ail even be fascinated with a deaf, little worm as that?  It was outrage that he could be so fascinated.  It was outrage that but a few days ago she had been so fascinated herself, finding another race that never heard the silence of the universe outside its sphere.  Such innocence and such ignorance were allowed to shrive and exist on this little, backward planet.  What she had once admired in Mamoru though, was gone.  Painfully reminded, as she was but a few days ago when she had caught Ail coming from the roof-top of their worm school with the sent of worms on his jacket, and the strange look in his eyes.

            But as long as Ail was happy, as long as he was no longer hungry and lost in the madness...  She could be strong for both of them.  Even now, she hated him a little for the bliss he found in a source she could no longer share with him.  Ail didn't know a thing though, blind as he was to her moods nowadays.  He stopped noticing awhile ago on how forced her affections for Mamoru had become in his presence.  He even failed to notice the feelings swelling in her when he turned away when once he would never have inspired such emotions, he would have stayed by her side.  It was better this way, him not noticing her vulnerabilities when she became too tired to hide them from him.  Yet, such knowledge only brought her disappointment instead of relief.  The confusion of it all distracted her to no ends, and still she could not find the strength inside to bring up such an issue.

            It would hurt too much if he brushed aside what she felt nowadays.  So the melancholy of her self-induced silence stayed only in the corners of her mouth when she smiled at him.  The spark in her eyes had long dissipated, though Ail never looked into her eyes when she was happy anymore.

            She could and would continue to hunt, to drive away her uncertainties as she fended off the Hunger for one more day and one more night.  She could learn to be stronger, she could gather the energies on her own, if need aroused.  For the both of them, even if Ail failed to notice how much she had been feeding them both, or how much her hand had rested on that familiar part of his door-frame at night, watching him but afraid to speak.

            She closed her eyes till she felt herself in Mother's embrace.  She was far, far away from the pesky little noises falling from out of those weak, worms' lips.  She was far, far away from the faces of their preys, and the pointless tales of weaknesses turned to useless strengths.  She was far, far away from the room her and Ail had once shared when first they arrived on Earth.  A room the two of them had rested in before he turned away with a casual shrug and a smile, telling her excitedly about how they could now be brothers and sisters, simply because he had caught such a notion from his first experience with a movie downtown.  The human fools called their safe and secure little boxes of rectangles and circles, home, but having drifted her whole life she knew no such home except for Ail.  Nowadays though, all she wanted was for the two of them to drift far, far away from the weaknesses inspired by the mere nearness of a worm.  Her Ail was becoming more and more like those little worms they ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner, each day they spent longer on Earth.  The loneliness he left her to in his own blindness to the way her smiles no longer reached her eyes, or that her infatuation with Mamoru no longer carried the weight of truth as her gazes and touches, even the way she threw herself at the man, all seemed overly exaggerated and no longer natural... no, Ail no longer noticed anything about her.  He went on, hunting now and again when he woke to the Hunger gripping his body and reminding him that he was not human.

            No, tonight, without Ail to hold her or remind her how far they had fallen from each other, she would sleep with Mother instead.

            _Did you miss me, Mother?  Did you like what I brought for you?_

            Mother's leaves rustled in the darkness with that same, beautifully sad song with words she could not understand and sounds she had long taken for granted since childhood.  Now, she closed her eyes and bathed in the constant presence of their Mother, and then, with her pink hair spilling over Mother's body, she slept and dreamt of Ail.

            In her dreams, he never turned away.  In her dreams he held her close to him again like he had once done as a child, his arms clinging to her waist.  In her dreams, he reflected the emotions inside her once more, as much as she reflected his own.  In her dreams, the loneliness and silence was blanketed by the pounding of his heart by her ear and his warmth surrounding hers, giving comfort in return for her own.  In her dreams, they never parted…

                                                *          *          *

            She listened to the rumors of a killer in class with masked amusement.  They were talking about her hunting sprees with fear and fascination in their eyes.  She fought back a laugh at the wide-eyed girls, and turned her head to the blackboard of the human classroom to distract herself from her own mirth.

            Wiggling little food, not one would get away if she so choose to devour them with Kage or any one of the lesser demons if she desired it.  Without the Sailor Senshi to interfere, that is, she would have had a much easier life here on Earth.  Still, it was far better than most of the other places they had visited before and fighting the Senshi was more controlled than the inescapable hunger that came for them always.

            The door opened at that moment and her thoughts halted as her gaze fell upon a surprising sight.  Tsukino Usagi, for once, was early.  Or perhaps, it would be better put that the teacher was rather late and had probably forgotten to inform the school of whatever the predicament the woman was in.

            "Ohayo, Naru Chan!"  Usagi proudly giggled when she finished furtively inspecting the room and realized she was not going to be in trouble this particular morning.

            "Usagi, I can't believe you actually made it on time!"  Osaka Naru exclaimed in surprise.

            "Good morning, Usagi."  She drawled out the little worm's name slowly.  Her eyes remained hooded and lazy as she considered her options of how to kill the blonde at a later date.

            "G-good morning, Natsumi."  Usagi replied uncertainly, slightly perturbed already at her own presence.  "Not chasing after _my Mamo Chan today?"  Usagi demanded, emphasizing the "_my_" more than was necessary._

_The blonde had the audacity to challenge her?_  Ann raised a brow coolly, the only indication of her ire at the small worm's challenge.  "Why would I need to when he barely glances at you to begin with?"  The slight watery look in Usagi's eyes confirmed what had long been obvious to Ann.

            "What would _you know?  He doesn't look at you with any more affection!"  Usagi rattled the desk as the blonde slammed her palms against it.  Usagi leaned heavily on the desk, jealousy and resentment flashing in her blue eyes as she leaned over Ann, trying to seem as intimidating as possible._

            Ann rose abruptly then, and leaned in return, not in the least bit intimidated.  "Stay away from _my_ brother!"  She leaned in further as Usagi backed away slightly in surprise and said in a softer tone so that only the two of them could hear, "And maybe, while I'm screwing your Mamo Chan next, I'll think of you."  Ann smirked at the horrified look that came over Usagi's features at her words.  The smile that usually stayed so pleasant for the boys in their class was gone.  In her presence, at least, Ann could rattle the human girl enough that the darker side of the worm's true nature finally showed its ugly head.  "That's as far as you'll ever get to him, Usagi _San_.  And you will not ever get even that close to Ail.  Not ever."

            The blazing anger came and Usagi moved so fast that had Ann not fought since childhood for survival, the other might have actually landed the slap.  Ann tightened her grip on the blonde's wrist, enough for pain to register upon Usagi's face but they did not progress from there as the teacher stepped in just then, out of breath and thoroughly flushed.  "Sorry for being so late, everyone!"

            Ann withdrew and sat back down.  The entire class seemed to heave a sigh of relief from the breath everyone held since Usagi first slammed her hands onto Ann's desk.  Everyone had been silently watching them before the rushed arrival of their teacher.  "Turn to page 61 of your textbooks everyone," Haruna Sensei commanded as she set down her bag, clueless to the happenings before her arrival.  "Have you forgotten how to sit, Usagi San?"  Haruna asked with a hint of amusement and slight annoyance to the back of Usagi.  The worm-girl who continued to stare at Ann with a clear look of confusion and something close to hate in those worm eyes of hers finally stirred at Haruna Sensei's direct question.  "Usagi San, you may return to your seat now.  I'll overlook this one detention since you actually got here before me for once, but class has commenced so please be prepared."

            Usagi snapped out of whatever thoughts she might have been thinking and nodded silently at Haruna Sensei.  Casting one last mixed look at Ann, Usagi returned to her own seat with unnatural submissiveness in her silence, even as the other's entire body remained rigid from withholding whatever emotions raged within her.

            Ann could only smile ever so innocently.  She had rattled her greatest rival and most desired prey as much as the girl seemed to do to Ail.  But such affects the worm had on Ail would not last much longer.  Ann would make sure of it.  For soon, soon Usagi should fall into the very heart of Mother as fodder for the Hunger and nothing more.

            _Soon._

**_From predator..._****__**

*_Author wrote this imagery question with Ann in mind._


	2. to prey

**_...to prey_**

            He had woken to an unfamiliar ceiling.  He wasn't really used to seeing a ceiling to begin with, much less one that was white.  He had lived his whole life on the fringes of planets and stars with nothing but black space in all directions, not even pin-point lights to guide one's way.  The universe was empty, or had seemed so if one was to look.  There were no comforts there, only isolation and silence.  Sometimes, when he was lucky, he would wake instead to the smell of her hair, soft pink and tainted blue, the color of what humans called cotton-candy.  Those strands would flood his vision in the dim light that glowed from their tree Mother, the sacred Makaiju Tree who guided their every step.  These days, though, all he saw was white and non-existent dreams.

            This world that called itself Earth was waking, he could hear the stir in the outside world.  The Makaiju Tree, Mother of their existence, sang a soft tune that came like listening to the evening breeze without the hum of traffic.  Yet, so used to it, he did not take too much notice or cared.  Understanding the words of the sacred tree had long proven fruitless.  Ail closed his eyes and enclosed himself in the familiar darkness behind his lids.  He recalled with perfect clarity the stretch of endless emptiness that lay in wait beyond the white ceiling and the blue skies, beyond the illusions of color and the moving bodies of the human species.

            The dreams that plagued his mind retreated as did the demons within.  Any moment now they would return and the Hunger would burn him to the core.  Ail forced his muscles to relax, savoring the few moments of peace left in the pre-dawn hours.  He felt his senses stretch over the city and heard the throb of energy.  He could feel Life that pulsed incessantly like human blood vessels, its sweet, energy force traveling in all directions, a thousand different paths waiting to be plucked, waiting to be sucked dry.  The ignorant, lazy meals that slumbered with ease, unaware of the danger he presented was also sweetly calling to him in its ease to catch.  Ail's lips twisted into a sadistic smile, he felt the burning demons rise with each throb as did his hunger.  He felt as if he were floating, watching the city slowly rousing, watching the world that begged to be taken till the Hunger was sated and Mother was strong.  Every ounce of him hummed with the unheard song of the Makaiju Tree, hummed with the life forces that left his mouth watering for more.  And this was how he lived, starved, and fed.

            The lives of his prey called to him.

            Snarling, he snapped open his eyes, back arching, fighting the Hunger that rushed throughout him with an animalistic craze.  No, he must not lose control, he must not blow their cover.  He fisted his fingers tightly against the sheets, wished for a fleeting moment for Ann to be there to sooth the pain.  The moment passed so quickly he would not remember it later when he was once again calm.  He withered and twisted on the human bed he used to rest upon.  The agony deep inside him demanded to be released. Unable to satiate the aching, Ail banged his fist against the wall in hopes of overcoming it with pains elsewhere on his body, but still it persisted like a tide that threatened to pull him deep into the ocean of his madness.

            Cool fingers brushed his brow, a voice called his name.  "Ail?  It's okay.  It will pass."  The murmurs were only slowly beginning to make sense.  He opened his eyes after long, suffering moments with the craze still within the depth of his gaze, but the glazed look was fading.  Ann's pink hair poured over her shoulder, strands flung over and around him as she hovered, watching him with a concern that she tried bravely to hide.  He had never come so close to losing it since they had arrived on Earth, not until today.  Her hands held his sweat dampened face, soothing him with soft, wordless sounds.  "Good morning," she said when she saw the last of the Hunger fade, though he was still panting from the exertion of holding it off.  Her lips curved into a humorless smile, but the relief was clear on her face even as she began to pull back.

            "Good morning," he said slowly, deliberately pronouncing the words as concisely as possible to disguise the weakness that now lay deeply within his limbs.  She carefully brushed his blue-bangs aside to better see his face.  His disguise had long fallen away during the night.  There was a tender look that came upon her face, but it quickly faded before it could be identified.  Ail saw but did not know how to name it as she pulled back completely, knowing the danger had passed.

            "I came to tell you that we should be heading to school soon," her fingers lingered on his cheek for a moment more.  It made him feel something he also could not name.  But the touch was soft and fleeting, as were his thoughts upon them.

            "Today will be hard," he answered.

            Ann's soft and comforting smile became a knowing smirk.  "Don't worry," she assured him as she rose onto her feet.  "I'll get us a snack."

            She misunderstood.

                                                *          *          *

            Ail ran his fingers through his copper colored hair and loosened his collar.  He stepped onto the roof, and walked to the edge.  Fingers curled over steel as he rested his head tiredly against the fence.  Today had been a draining day.  In keeping up appearances, he had found the effort to have been more difficult than before.

            "Hello?"

            He froze, turning his head to see blonde-odangos bobbing as Tsukino Usagi poked her head out onto the roof behind a beaming Kino Makoto.  "Hey there, Seijuro Sempai!" Surprised, Ail only blinked at them before inclining his head politely.

            "Hello there, ladies."  He answered smoothly to his relief, hiding his surprise.  Makoto near swooned as she dragged a much more reluctant Usagi behind her.

            "We saw you come up here," Makoto explained as Ail leaned against the fence, paying more attention to the blonde behind Makoto.  "I know you probably want to be alone, but I also noticed that you don't have a bento today, again."  Beaming Makoto produced a large lunch box, seemingly from out of nowhere.  Ail could not help but take note of the sudden perk in Usagi's demeanor.  "So why don't the three of us have a picnic, I cooked enough for four?"  Makoto shot a knowing look at Usagi while Ail raised a brow, "Though Usagi has a tendency to eat like four people, maybe she'll hold back a little today and share."

            "Hey!"  Usagi protested as she made a grab for the revealed dumplings, "I do not!"  The "not" part was a slurred as the blonde popped the dumpling into her mouth and started to chew vigorously, with a delighted expression coming over her face at the taste.

            Ail smiled at both of them.  With Tsukino Usagi so close, he could feel warmth spreading within him as she sat next to her friend, eating and arguing.  He was beginning to feel better already, and it seemed that just being with Usagi had made that possible.  Ail took note of the warmth he felt, deciding it be best that he raise the startling discovery when he could talk to Ann next.  Makoto was still popping open her lunch boxes, chattering all the way.  There was the beautiful day to discuss, the heavy set of spring slowly passing into early summer.  There were worries of exams and the beauty of the world blossoming.  There were shared jokes between close friends as the two girls bantered, teased and mocked each other and those they knew with ease.

            "So," Makoto turned to Ail as he poked experimentally at a piece of what looked like fish in one of the many layered bentos spread about.  "Where did you learn to play the flute like that?"  The brunette was digging into a dumpling while Usagi ate like a mad-woman beside her.

            Ail chuckled softly at the sight.  He hardly ever spent any time, especially not quiet afternoons, with humans before, or anyone for that matter.  In space, Ann and he had spent most of their days asleep, trying to stave off the Hunger while they traveled from planet to planet.  Sometimes, there were sights they had never before encountered, and had been fascinated with.  But most times, they were hunted when their identities were blown.  Up to now, Ail had not been able to relax for a moment, not like this.

            "I've known it for so long, I can't quite remember when I started," he lied.  "I guess it came to me naturally."  He ducked his head to hide his amusement at his own lies, though to the girls in front of him, he must have came off as modest.  "A relative gave me the flute, and I've treasured it ever since."

            "That's so romantic," Usagi murmured, awe in her voice.

            Ail looked up startled, it was the first time she spoke to him directly since the two friends had arrived.  Makoto glanced sideways at her friend slyly, "Wow," the brunette exclaimed, startling them both.  "You actually got Usagi Chan to stop eating for a moment to speak!"  Makoto beamed even more brightly at Ail than he thought was humanly possible.  Makoto also tactfully ignored Usagi's fierce protests to her observations.

            He laughed again, the sound carefree even to his own ears.  In those moments, eating with the girls, laughing at their antics and enjoying their warm company, the Hunger was forgotten.  When the bell rang, signifying the end of lunch, Ail was almost sad to see them go.  The time had never passed so pleasantly.  At one point he had played them the song shared, once, only between him and Ann.  For once, there was a different feel to the notes he was so familiar with.  The power beneath his fingers had felt changed somehow as it left him.

            "Do you always come up here?"  Usagi asked as they shuffled down the stairs to their perspective classes.

            "When I want to think," he answered vaguely.

            Usagi decided to smile at him brightly then while clasping her hands together.  "Well, it was nice spending time with you!  I hope we can repeat it again, hm?"

            Makoto nodded in agreement, before she whispered something in Usagi's ear.  The blonde looked positively evil for a moment, slyly grinning at her friend.  "Is that so?"  Ail asked in amusement, pretending not to have noticed the change in Usagi's demeanor.  Makoto on the other hand had the decency to blush in embarrassment for both Usagi and herself before shoving Usagi gently ahead.

            "Go before you're late again," Makoto said roughly, though there was laughter in her eyes.  Usagi, with a less than dignified response, put her finger under her left eye and pulled, childishly sticking out her tongue as well.  But with the warning bell going again, the girl quickly scrambled away.

            "So," Makoto said awkwardly when they paused before her classroom, her hand on his elbow to prevent him from leaving.  The brunette quickly dropped her hand when he paused to look at her, still blushing.  "I wanted to know, if you thought about what I said--" she paused "--about love, I mean."

            Ail looked surprised as he tilted his head and studied the woman.  He got similar feelings of warmth from her as well, though not as strongly as those given off in Usagi's presence.  "Aa," he tucked his hands into his pockets as he looked to the windows.  "I don't understand how you can say that love cannot be possessed if one has the will and the power to do so.  This love, it can be taken by force and won.  Nothing in this world is given for free, no one shares anything willingly, especially for such precious things."

            All those human stories of long ago spoke of such emotions thusly, did it not?  Love was won, it could be won if the hero of the tale was strong enough and brave enough, at least.  Makoto sighed in defeat, "I guess I can't stop you if you want to think of it that way."  She relented slightly, "But still, just think about what I said, hm?"  Her green eyes sparkled, a color that matched the leaves of the Makaiju Tree when they weren't withering.  It was an intriguing color, as were her words.

            "Aa," he complied politely.  "Love, is the sharing of one's heart and not to be fought over like a prize."  He repeated with a slightly indulgent grin and this time he knew Makoto was red for perhaps, a different reason.  "Good day, Makoto San."

            She smiled at him with a wave as she stepped into class, thoroughly late.  "Bye, Seijuro Sempai!"  He could hear the rise of the teacher's voice, the polite apology, and the vague threats of detention as he left.  Yet, he was amused by the tall, brunette girl for a different reason.

            Humans, these creatures were indeed very strange.  Shrugging, Ail walked towards his own classroom confidently.  "Spending time with two little nosy worms?"  Ann's legs dangled as she sat on the window sill, her back to him as he passed her.  Ail stopped but did not turn.

            "Jealous?"  He asked with a smirk on his lips, cool and detached.

            She snorted at his comment, tousling her red tresses as she shook her head in annoyance.  "As if," she sneered.  "I do not get jealous over your affairs with worthless, stupid worms.  They're good for nothing but meals after all, but you seemed to forget that these days."

            "That's good," Ail calmly answered, not at all acknowledging her latter scoff.  "I was beginning to worry about your inferiority complex when it came to these "worms" of yours."

            Ann turned to him, rage flashing in her eyes.  "What did you say?"

            Ail turned to her, his fingers closed around her throat lightly but his grip was firm and his threat was clear.  "Don't patronize me, little sister."  He emphasized the last part as if to remind her of her place, at least her place in the eyes of the humans around them.

            She grasped his wrist, red eyes fairly glowing and the air around her crackle in response to her volatile emotions.  In that moment, Ail was mesmerized by her power, by the beauty she possessed as she stared him down.  The moment passed like many other moments, "What are you two doing?  Why aren't you in class?"  A teacher demanded as his voice cut through their standoff.  "And young lady, it's not safe to sit out like that!  That was totally indecent of you!"

            "We'll talk about this later," Ann whispered as she leaned into him.  She then easily twisted out of his grasp and away from him.  In her own way, Ann was telling him that she was allowing him to toy with her.

            These moments between them always passed, and nothing ever changed.

                                                *          *          *

            The apartment was eerily quiet.  Ail set down his book onto his chest as he leaned his head back onto the soft cushions of the couch.  Ann had not returned yet from her evening strolls, and as much as he rather not admit to it, he was worried.  Ann didn't tend to think before she acted, her actions depended on her moods.  In that, Ann tended to be unpredictable and dangerous, but such things went both ways and sometimes it was an advantage to her enemies.

            Ail just couldn't understand her, especially not these last few days.

            There was a click as the door closed.  A bad habit really, Ann using the front door nowadays as if she were human.  Sometimes though, if she was really avoiding him, she would teleport into the Makaiju room without even bothering with disguises.  On nights when she used the door, it usually meant she wanted to see him.  In these moments, Ann acted more human out of the two of them though Ail knew she'd adamantly deny such claims should he ever bring it up.  On night like these though, she tended to check up on him in his room, saying goodnights in a whisper after many minutes would pass with her studying him from his door frame.  Many of those times he would wonder what went on in her head as she watched him in the dark.

            On these nights he never turned to greet her, but her declaration at being home always made him relax enough to feign sleep.  "Tadaima!"  She called out cheerfully as he heard her shoes falling onto the tiled floors in the front hall, heard the rustling of her jacket being discarded.  "Ail?"  She hadn't paused to look anywhere else and he heard her open his door.  She sounded happy for some reason.

            He chose not to answer and instead, waited for her to find him.  She did, after frantically calling his name a few times when she found that he wasn't in his room.  "Ail!"  She exclaimed when she finally located him on the couch, slouched and silent.  "Why didn't you answer me when you heard me call you?"  She demanded with great agitation, fists planted on her hips.  She had shed her human form, and her appearance a familiar sight to his eyes.  He wondered for a brief moment if he put his lips on those strands would they taste as sweet as their color suggested.  The idea was too strange to even consider, and he immediately dismissed it.  "Ail!"  She sounded worried now, if not a bit on the whiney side, another nuance she had picked up from contacts with humans.

            "Stop," he commanded her softly.  Ann froze at his words before the silliness of abiding by his commands made her shake her head as if she were clearing it.

            Now she was glaring at him, "What do you mean stop?"  Her hands landed heavily on their living-room table, rattling it with the force of her weight behind her actions.  "Why the hell did you ignore my calls?"

            "I didn't feel like answering, Ann."  He answered casually.  "You don't answer to me do you?"  He watched the play of emotions on her face and took note to remind her to work on hiding it better.  "So, it would only be fair if you were to return the favor and acknowledge the fact that I do not need to answer to you."  It was good to know she worried about him as much as he did about her.  Now they were even.

            "What the fuck are you talking about?"  Ann swore, "I don't give a damn about what you do, but if you heard me call your name you should have the decency to answer, damnit!"  She was a bad liar.  Her eyes shone a little too brightly from the lights outside.  It was getting darker in the living-room since they hadn't bothered to turn on any of their own electric lights.  Even so, there was a sheen that made her eyes shine brighter.  Ail was slow to recognize the brightness to be the beginning of tears.  Struck by the weakness she was showing him, he remained silent, any retorts he had on his tongue was forgotten.  But Ann was the first to turn away, her shoulders shaking slightly.

            "Don't," he finally said.  He wasn't exactly sure what he was aiming for when the word left his mouth but he felt the need to say it as clearly as he felt the Hunger.

            "Don't what?" she sounded miserable.  "Don't what?"  Ann seemed to have regained control and squared her shoulders.  She seemed to have regained her earlier anger as well.  "Don't worry about what's going on here?  Don't care about your silly infatuations with a worthless worm?  Don't what, Ail?"  There was but a momentary pause before she finally spoke what she really wanted to know.  Ail would have been annoyed with her calling Tsukino Usagi a worm if it weren't for his surprise.  "What happened to us, Ail?  We were never like this before."  There must have been something in his eyes that made her narrow her gaze, "What changed, older brother, Seijuro?" she sneered out the name of his false identity.

            But he was ignoring the last of her questions, ignoring her distress and the fury that stemmed from it.  He focused on their age old arguments instead, the things they had fought over a thousand times, already.  Those things were less personal and safer.  "What about that Chiba Mamoru you keep hanging around with, or should I say, hanging off of all the time, hm?"  Ail asked coolly.  "Is he not a "_worm" too?  Should he not deserve your scorn as well, little sister, Natsumi Chan?"  He threw her words right back at her._

            Ann turned away before turning back on him again so quickly that for a stunned moment, he did not realize that she had slapped him.  The blow came so quick and so hard that he ended up facing the window, his ears still ringing from the loud, cracking sound it made.  "Fuck you!"  She spat, the quiver in her voice was the only thing that betrayed her, and in the next moment she had turned to storm off.

            He touched his cheek gently.  She hadn't come in contact with him for a long time now, he realized.  He never thought there would be a time when the only reason she would touch him was through striking him.  She reeked of humans now, and he hated that smell that clung to her body.  He hated the way they were drifting apart and how he unintentionally encouraged it every time they were near.  "What are we now, Ann?"  She froze by the hallway, every line of her body seemed ready to bolt away, but she didn't go anywhere.  Instead, she waited him out, listened to the soft and helpless despair in his tone.  "Are we friends?  Are we siblings?  Are we lovers?  Or are we now something completely different?"

            _Are you scared now that we are enemies, like I am scared?_  But those words were left unspoken.

            "What were we before?" she asked him instead.  The silence that followed was the second longest one in his life.  "I won't betray you for a worm, Ail, if that's what you're worried about.  So you can stop considering something that stupid."  Ann finally spoke, brusque and short, her head tipped forward.  "I hope it's still the same on your side of the... deal."  But before he could deny her accusations or answer her earlier question, she was gone.

            Ann didn't go seeking the comfort of the Makaiju's presence that evening like she usually did, at least not that night.  She didn't stay in her room, though her TV was left on (another annoying habit to Ail) which meant she had been in the room earlier.  Ann had gone out again and it was the first night she stayed out and didn't return.  The Makaiju Tree was stronger the next day, so Ail had a pretty good clue where she went and what she did.  However, it was the first time she stayed out the entire evening, and Ail didn't know if all she did was hunt.

            Ann finally came home in the early morning reeking of human flesh, human blood and a strong touch of alcohol.  She showered first before standing at his door and studying his back a long time.  The atmosphere around her was still tense, though tainted with grim satisfaction and something infinitely sad.  She didn't whisper a "good morning", or even attempted to give an explanation of where she had been.  She didn't ask if he had been worried about her, or if he slept well.  "Get up.  School's going to start soon."  She finally broke the tense silence, which told Ail that she had a pretty good idea he was wide-awake.  And then she left.

            It was the first time Ail walked to school by himself.

                                                *          *          *

            In biology class that day a student had jokingly said, "You know, the female tended to be the more deadly of any species."  Ail didn't know where that had came from or what had prompted those words or even why he listened to it, but it gave him pause.

            Later that evening, he felt the confirmation of those words while he was lounging on the balcony.  The Cardians had been more and more restless, even Ann had a hard time bending the magical beings to their will these days.  She always did pick the better card for the right situations, though there had been a few times when he did so himself when she had not been around to consult.  Lately, their partnership was strained and distant, though the Hunger grew stronger and demanded that they be tied more closely together so to find more energy.  Lately, when he looked at her, he was bewildered and confused.  Lately, even Usagi's image could bring no comfort to him and many times, while he dreamed, Ann will appear again and again till he sometimes couldn't look at her when he was awake, afraid of what he would do or say if he did.  She had stopped checking up on him when she returned home, if she returned "home".  And the early morning walks to school became lonely and long.

            Even surrounded by sunlight and people, Ail felt that there really was no difference between where he stood and the black space he came from.  Once, he had thought that he felt this emptiness only because he was surrounded by it.  But now he was slowly learning that such emptiness could not be filled with noise and the presence of others.  Even surrounded by all these humans and Earthian beasts, living in a world filled with things, along with promises of little hunger and no more darkness, in the end, nothing changed.  It had felt as if all of it was only a superficial change of scenery and nothing more.  Only now that he had lost Ann and the little comforts she had always offered him, did he find himself missing her presence more than he was willing to admit.

            The problems between them though, remained unspoken and unsolved.  They fought and bickered over little things, petty things when they were no longer forced to work together.  When one of them would find the courage to skirt around the topics they really wanted to talk about, the other usually brought up something else to distract and argue over.  The air between them fairly crackled with tension while the same things were left unsaid.  Ail continued to eat lunch with Usagi and Makoto once or twice a week on the roof, but he was becoming more and more quiet and withdrawn since all he could think about was Ann.

            Makoto brought up his silence a few times, and each time Usagi looked equally concerned, but there was nothing they could do.  "Why doesn't Natsumi San ever make you lunch?"  Usagi had asked guilelessly one time, "Doesn't she know how to cook?"  The latter part was said with a stormy, sneaky expression that blotted out the usually cheerful look on the blonde's face.  It was the only time Ail ever snapped at her for having touched a sensitive issue.  "Sorry," Usagi had apologized immediately, hurt and guilt stricken, if not a bit ashamed of her own, earlier actions.  Something about Usagi reminded Ail of Ann, but it confused him since the two seemed to have nothing in common except their petty fighting.

            "No, my fault," and he meant it.  Though Ail knew if Ann ever heard of this, she'd probably bite his head off and then head straight for Usagi to do something far worse.  He very much doubt that Ann will take any pleasure in him beginning to think of the two girls before him as his friends, though Usagi held an air of fragility around her that made him ache to protect her.  The two girls didn't go near the subject of his "little sister", again.  That made him grateful and lunch luckily did not end awkwardly.

            Still those words lingered in his mind without reason, "_...the female tended to be the more deadly of any species._"

            When he went home that evening no one was there to greet him.  Ann did not walk with him anywhere these days.  She didn't wait for him after school, and the Makaiju was the only one who knew where she went.  He fixed himself a drink in the empty apartment, finding that he enjoyed the Earthian foods introduced and provided to him by Kino Makoto.  He tried his hand at this "cooking" thing a few times, and found that he wasn't half bad at it.  Somehow, he ended up on the balcony, overlooking the city to where Ann was probably prancing around proudly and sucking people dry of their energies for both of them to live off of.  Her activities made her more susceptible to fatigue, and Ail was getting the distinct feeling that she was leaving him with most of the energy.

            Sometimes, Ail felt useless in times like these, but then again the Cardians had been failing them lately because of those despised Sailor Senshi.  They were hard pressed to get any energy if Ann didn't go about it her way.  And after that wild card, Cardian... Ail shuddered slightly at the thought of that day.  Something was going terribly wrong, and not just between Ann and himself.  Such thoughts though, fled at the sight he found himself unable to look away from.

          _Did you wanted it this way?  The power flowing in your hands, me supposedly betraying all that I felt for you?  Obsession clouding my eyes for you?  I'm there now, Ann, is this what you wanted?_  Ail snarled, his knuckles white against the rail as below him, Ann laughed up at another man that very evening.  A dark-haired "worm", she should be calling that human as she should have been standing beside Ail to observe this.  But she wasn't, she didn't and she most likely, won't.

            **_This love, it can be taken by force and won.  It is not something one shares willingly._**

            _Are you getting me back for Usagi, the "odango idiot" you believe to be my pet?  Do you hate me that much now?  What are these feelings inside me, demanding for me to drop my disguise and come upon this worm of yours and rip out his little tongue for daring to speak to you?  Why are you laughing up at him like that, the way you never do for me anymore?  Why aren't you stealing his energy right now instead of parading him before my eyes like this?_

            **_Don't._**

            This was all pretenses before.  What changed?  _We are the hunters, and had always been.  We were only hunted when they discovered we could destroy and kill so completely.  We are stronger than they are, different from these humans.  We do not fear for we do not fall to their pettiness and greed.  We do not envy their small, insignificant world and their infinitely smaller lives.  Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?_  Ail growled deep within his chest, it rumbled throughout his body like poison, the emotions he could not express otherwise.  Ann turned to look up to him briefly but quickly glanced away and waved goodbye to the dark-haired man.

            **_Don't what?_**

            _I hate you_, Ail snarled down at her.  _For the power you have over me, controlling my emotions and my moves and my motives.  How I hate you!  Ann appeared beside him, sitting on the rails.  "I hate you," she answered him in return, looking at their reflection from the patio door.  "I won't forgive you, and especially not for _her_."  She tilted her head and ran her fingers through her long, strawberry hair as she sat in her red suit.  Ann ignored him and he returned the favor, she ignored the pain she inflected upon him knowingly and he pretended that she could not accomplish such things, that she hadn't the power to do so._

            _We were never like this before._

            He was her enemy now.  Her eyes turned to him while he stood in that weak, human form.  A challenge shone in her eyes as she watched him.  "Why?" Ail asked softly then, captured in the heat of her gaze.

            **_What are we now?_**

            Ann smiled, openly and honestly for the first time at him.  He never seen such a smile on her lips, never felt so confused.  The smile turned wasteful and far away, like what had subtly happened between them was inevitable, a defeat that could not be overturned.  "It is the only way," she explained vaguely and turned away.  Pausing, she looked as if she was deciding whether or not to continue, but obviously she chose not to and remained silent.

            **_Are we friends?_**

            "What do you mean?"  Ail finally asked, getting angry himself.

            **_Are we siblings?_**

            "No, nothing," she answered.  "Nothing at all, older brother," Ann watched him when she returned the hated, lying title onto him.  But he would not allow his composure to slip even once under her close scrutiny.  No, Ail wasn't going to let her win this one.  He would make sure that she never knows how much she could, and already did, hurt him.

            **_Are we lovers?_**

            "Whatever you want, little sister," she was gone from his sight before he could see the expression on her face and in her eyes.  Ann was in her room now, the first time in a long time, actually.  But now Ail didn't want to see her, wasn't ready for the answers she had for him and his questions.

            **_Or are we now something completely different?_**

            Inside, he felt as if a great bird had come upon his small heart and dug its claws deeply into the organ.  He felt and identified, for the first time, that emotion called fear.  Fear of losing her, fear of what was to happen between them, fear of himself and his words, and fear for their lives at the way things were going.  It was his fear of being alone and failing them both.  It was his fear of losing that person that had always been there for him, who he always expected to be there for him.  Ann was the one who shared everything with him.  The one who hunted beside him, who held him on nights when the Hunger had been too painful to resist and too unbearable to turn away, and she was the one who held him on nights of loneliness too empty for words.

            _Are you scared now that we are enemies, like I am scared?_

            The Makaiju Tree continued to sing, the TV that Ann never turned off continued to blast away, and the traffic went on at a snail's pace.  The world moved on as if nothing had happened.  These moments between them always passed, and nothing ever changed.  Nothing had changed, had it?

            _What are we now...?_

            Ail closed his eyes and smelled the night air that was tainted with pollution and the stench of human filth.  He remembered her words and her eyes as he tried to block out his disgust, his Hunger, his emotions...  He wondered how much Ann meant what she had said to him.  He wondered how much she had meant when she had wrapped her fingers around the arm of that strange human.  Ann had always been honest and would say exactly what she felt with him before, but he hoped this once she had been lying to him.

            **_What were we before?_**

            Ail looked out over the city and saw only pin-prick lights shining far away in darkness, too far away to reach from where he stood.  They shone like distant beacons from faraway stars in the universe, far out of reach and only there to remind Ail of his loneliness and his fears.  He thought of the warm feeling he had of Usagi, but even her image could not fill the coldness growing within his heart.  Instead, seeing her innocent face made the Hunger rise, demanding to defile her, possess her, and destroy her.  The need to possess the things Usagi had within her that he did not was strong, and it hurt.  In that moment, he wondered if this was how Ann saw Usagi, if that was why Ann never seemed to understand him anymore when all she saw was a prey that seemed to beg to be taken.

            But Ann had left him.  She had left that place within him as surely as she had left their balcony for the comfort of her own room and her solitude.  In her absence numbness crept into his soul, burrowing and settling deep into his bones.  He wondered if, in seeing Andromeda, Perseus ever felt this way, if the ancient hero had ever felt the same for another woman.  Did such heroes ever feel as he did?  Alone, abandoned and weak, were these familiar emotions to those human males of long ago?  Did they chase after other dreams and sought warmth from other places because they had failed in the things far too close to their hearts?  But such thoughts were useless.  There were things that need not be considered because love was not something given freely but won and taken by force.  Anything else was only human ideas that were filled with needless sentiments.

            Tonight is a good night for hunting, Ail decided instead.  He allowed the Hunger to consume him as he had never allowed it to do so before.  The door buzzer rang and seemed to echo in the silence.  Usagi waited to be heard.

            "I'll get that," Ann called half-heartedly from the front hall.

            Tonight is a good night to prey.

                                                *******

                                                _The End_

                                                *******

Title: **_From predators to prey_**

Written by: blue

Genre: Angst/Drama

Parts: 2/2 [Two-piece vignette]

Contact by email: blueweber@hotmail.com

Mailing list: http:// groups . yahoo . com / group / insanityInBlue /

Webpage: http:// www . megspace . com / arts / colorblue / aoi . html

NOTE: Apologies to Starsea who I had promised to put this fic up at the end of last summer.  But due to the fact that I did not have this half -- I accidentally left this one home -- I could not post the first half incomplete. ^_^;; Gomen nasai, Starsea!  I hope you enjoy this though (despite the long wait)!

WARNING: Some elements of the anime was changed for the purpose of this fanfic.  I know there will be some discrepancies.  Please bare with them.

DISCLAIMER:  There were some villains created in the anime that didn't belong to this little, otaku author-ess.  They weren't very popular though.  Not everyone liked them since they were, after all, villains and they were interested in the most frivolous of things.  Then, came a computer, it wasn't the most expansive computer.  But if it were broken, someone will most likely have to pay a much higher price than what that computer was probably worth in the market today -- by money or horrid torture -- to fix it.  There was an otaku-writer who had nothing to do with either (or didn't want to, at least), but unwittingly got bonked over the head with an idea...

God.

Help.

You.

All.

-_-;;


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